Eraser



@ch 6, 1931. 1.. K. WRIGHT ERASER Fi led Aug. 10, 1928 m w n W M E w 0 E y L 4 3: 5 55 i LEONARD K. WEIGHT, 015' JACKSON HEIGHTS,

Patented Oct. 6 1931 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF TWENTY-TWO PER CENT TO NICHOLAS DI MARCO, TWENTY-TWO PER CENT T VINCENT OAMIZZI,

AND TWENTY-TWO PER CENT TO HENRY v'rscnnm, ALL or CORONA, NEW YORK mmsnn Application filed August 10, 1928. Serial No. 298,734.

Previous to this time, with writings, in-

" scribed in ink with a heavy band, or on paper with little sizing, or with typewritters having new ribbons, it has usually been customary to moisten the eraser in order to soften or aid in removing a portion of the paper in order to effectually erase the undesirable record with greater ease and speed. This practice has been followed not only to save time and energy in erasing, but to avoid too great an abrasion of the paper, and often the puncturing of the same in cases of writing diflicult to remove. It has been usual to forego sanitary precautions and wet the eraser with the tongue-a practice unsanitary not only to the person performing it but also to the recipient of the writing in the caseof contagious diseases.

Ink erasers heretofore employed have been of two general typesrubber erasers, in

Which is incorporated some abrasive material, such as ground glass, sand, emery and the like; and chemical eradicators .which have consisted usually of a plurality of chemicalsone to soften the paper and writing and the other to bleach or chemically react with the ink to render it invisible. Both of these forms have been attended with certain disadvantages. The abrasive in the rubber erasers has always caused a more or less noticeable abrasion of the paper, and in cases of writing difiicult to remove has actually punctured the paper and spoiled the record. Also considerable time and energy has been required to make satisfactory erasures. At the same time chemical eradicators necessitate a plurality of tightly corked bottles with applicators to apply thechemicals to the writing, which limits their use to desks where they may be conveniently kept. They alsorequire skill in their successful use and are altogether impracticable for general use.

An object of this invention is to provide an eraser for general use that combines the advantages of an ordinary rubber eraser and chemical eradicator with none of the disadvantages of either. I

Another object of this invention is to provide a means of automatically moistening an ordinary rubber eraser without resort to the unsanitary practice of wetting it with the tongue.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a chemical eradicator which requires no additional vessel to contain the fluid, and the fluid may be applied as liberally 'or as little as desired, depending upon the requirement.

A further object of this invention is to prov de an eraser having a container which holds and preserves the fluid from evaporation or waste, and yet renders it immediately available.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an eraser having a non-breakable and leakproof container which may act as an eraser in the dry state until fluid is required to assist in cleaning or erasing.

With these and other objects in view, which may be incident to my improvements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations to be hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements comprising my invention may be varied in construction, proportions and arrangement, without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In order to make my invention more clearly understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practical eflect, without limiting the improvements in their useful application to the particular constructions, which, for the purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my device;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. at is a longitudinal section of a modified form of my device;

Fig. is a longitudinal section of still ancompound other modification of I my device.

,.Referring'by numerals to the drawings, wherein the same elements are designated by like symbols throughout, and more particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that my improved eraser consists of an eraser or stem 1, surmounted by an integral hollow body 2.- The eraser or stem 1-is made of rubber, or flexible compound in the general form shown in Fi 2, with a central capillary channel .3 lea ing from the chamber 2 to the working end of the eraser. The body 2 may be composed of a softer and more flexible than the eraser portion, or the body andthe eraser portion may be ofthe samematerial. With theuse of ink eradieating fluids, an almost pure gum stock may be used for both the body and eraser stem.

The body 2 is hollow, with relatively thin walls, and is filled with a suitable detersive fluid 4, which may be ordinary water, alcohol,

carbon tetrachloride, or any ink eradicating fluid designed to aid, or improved, erasures,

5 or"eradicate writings by chemical action.

The fluid 4 is inserted in the body 2 through a suitable opening 5 in the top thereof, which is then closed by a fluid tight plug 6.

Plug 6, which may be of any suitable ma- 30 terial, suchas hard or soft rubber, or metal,

or any composition, or-any plastic compound, 'is provided with a groove8 so'that when the plug is inserted in'hole 5 the lip 9 formed in body 2 around hole 5, cooperating with lip 35 10 ofthe plug, effectively seals the container 2 and prevents leakage therefrom. a

The eraser portion 1 may be of any shape or size but the best form is one like, or similar to, the one shown in Fig.2. The best form is that which has a narrow width so that it can be used on a small area, such as in removing a single letter from a typewritten word.

The-channel 3 is of fairly small bore, so that no liquid will ooze through, unless the body be squeezed,'as in the act of erasing. The channel bein' small, permits but small quantities of flui to escape, the amount being regulated by the degree with which the body 2 is squeezed or compressed, as the more diflicult the erasure, the more tightly the body of the eraser is grasped, and the more liquid is automatically supplied.

The shape of body 2 should be such that it will not roll from the desk or table. The flattened form shown in'Figs. 1, 2and 3 will prevent rolling, 'but it within the scope of my invention to utilize other forms. a

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified form of my invention wherein the eraser ortion 11 is separable from the body 12 by aving the eraser portion equipped with a collar' 13, such as used on the plug, so that the eraser portion can'be inserte into the bod ,elimi- M nating the plug entirely, as clearly s own in Fig. 3. This latter construction nis better suited to-molding and manufacturin -when using difierent' compounds for bo y and eraser. 1

In Fig. 5 I have shown still another form of my invention, in which the body 14 is of conventional bottle shape with rounded or hexagonal sides tapering to a neck 15,

'the neck in this casebeing the eraser and the whole adapted to standalone by reason of the flat top 16 with countersunk flat headed plugs 17. This form is provided with a plurality of fluid compartments 18 which communicate with the end of eraser 15 through a plurality of capillary channels 19. This orm is especially adapted for usewith those types of ink eradicators which require the application of two fluids.

From the foregoing description it is seen that I- have provided a new and novel form of eraser in which liquids combine with and aid the scouring action of the rubber in effecting quick and eflicient erasures. Also I have provided a means to combine the use of'ink eradicator with the scouring action of a ruboer eraser in eifecting. neat and complete erasures of writings diflicult or impossible to remove with ordinary erasers or ink eradicators alone.

While I use the word rubber in the description of the body, plug and eraser portions of my invention, it is understood that this word rubber is to embody any medium capable of acting as or like rubber or. having rubber like qualities, such as pure rubber itself, and that I may use pure gum'stocks, compounded material, unmixed or unvulcanized crude, or crepe, rubber substitutes such as artificial rubber, such as can be made from oxidized oils of linseed, rapeseed, cottonseed,

mustard, peanut, poppyseed, castor and corn.

White rubber substitute makes a ver soft eraser, known as soap rubber. There ore, I'

do not wish to be limited by the word rubber being construed as a composition of any specific analysis, but desire that this word cover any medium capable of acting as or like rubber or compounded rubber or having rubber like qualities, which may be wholly or in part other substances which are elastic and offer suflicient abrasiveness or frictional resistance to effect erasures.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction herein Iset forthilby 'way of illustrationi as it is apously applying a liquid ink eradicating chemical thereto.

2. The method of erasin writing by scouring the writing with rub er and simultaneously applying selectively a plurality of ink eradicating chemicals thereto.

3. The method of erasing writin by scouring the writing with pure gum rubber and simultaneously applying a hquid ink eradicat ing chemical thereto. a

4. An eraser comprising a rubber erasing stem having an erasing surface andmeans to apply a controlled amount of liquid to the erasing surface of said stem during the process of erasing.

5. An eraser com rising a part having an erasing surface and means operable by the gripping of the eraser in the hand of the operator for applying a fluid ink eradicat ing chemical to said surface.

6. An eraser comprising a rubber erasin stem having an erasing surface and a liqui container communicating with the erasing surface of said stem whereby said surface is 2 supplied with said liquid when the eraser is gripped in the hand. r

7. An eraser comprising a pure gum rubber erasing stem having an erasing surface and means to selectively supply a plurality of liquid ink eradicating chemlcals to the erasing surface of said stein during the process of erasing.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

LEONARD K. WR HT. 

